70 réponses à ce sujet

[Jezla]

Ok, time for an update! I've gotten the world map integrated (which means that the map is visible in game and the hot spots show up). I'm halfway through building the tunnels under Old Skull (2 levels done, 2 to go), and am adding the intro quest. All the Shadowdale areas are built, I just need to add the shopkeepers and NPCs.

[Jezla]

Hello again everyone!  After another loooong hiatus, I'm back to playing NWN2 and building.  I'm making progress on this mod.  I'll try and post some interesting screens soon.  Good to see everyone again!

[andysks]

I am new here compared to you, but it's nice to see people on hiatuses back working again. Good luck.

[Tchos]

Good to see you again, too.  I remember you. 

[Arkalezth]

Welcome back!

[Jezla]

Thanks guys.  I've been lurking quite a bit, but haven't cracked open the toolset until a few days ago.  I've got the intro quest for the mod done, now it gets trickier, as I'm at the part where the mod becaomes much less linear.

[PJ156]

Hello again Jezla, I enjoyed playing your other work so it good to hear you are back on the tools.

 

I still return to Lowena from time to time

 

PJ

[Jezla]

Thanks, PJ, glad you enjoy it!  I'm finally working my way through your Lake of Sorrows campaign.  I'm in chapter 2 right now.

[Jezla]

Okay, here's a few screens:

 

First, a mysterious inn deep in Cormanthor.  I wonder what they serve?  Or whom?

 

 

Incidently, this area is a prefab by Elminster_falcon, part of his Forest Ecologies set. 

 

Next, fighting trolls in the caves under Old Skull:

 

 

 

[Jezla]

This is from the old projects page; Jamble's Eye.

 

 

And lastly, also from the projects page, the world map:

 

 

I forgot to mention, the screen in the post above of the troll fight was taken with darkvision enabled.  Those tunnels are dark!

[Jezla]

Whew!  Lot of work this week, just on a side quest.  I was working on the areas for the quest, and decided I wanted another way to deal with the encounter.  It meant a lot more work, but the end result will be worth it: something for rogues to do, as well as a good alternative to a pretty evil quest.  I don't want to give anything away, but I think it will be one that players will enjoy, despite being a typical "find me x number of y" quest.  It's a long one, though; you get it at the beginning of the game, but can't really complete it until 2/3 of the way through.

 

The good news is that I'm quickly shaking the rust off my scripting skills, as the base quest is working fairly smoothly.

[Jezla]

Here's another one: the Shadowdale Druid Grove.

 

[PJ156]

Good stuff Jezla,

Personally, I like a drop of rain in a module. Have you come across LB's weather scripts, they are very good.

PJ

[Jezla]

PJ, I haven't seen those, I'll have to look at them.  The rain in these screens is just from the area properties settings in the toolset.

[Jezla]

Work is proceeding well.  I'm halfway through the second big quest you'll receive in the game, which is a multiple-path quest (which means there are two ways you can complete it).  It's one of the more complicated quests and it also introduces one of the companions.  Insane warlock, anyone?

[Eguintir Eligard]

From what I can tell there is no other kind.

[Jezla]

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks of building!  I've got the second quest finished and ready for a test run.

 

Part of my module building philosophy is that I should try and learn something new on each project.  So far in this campaign I've learned how to integrate various custom content, rudimentary vfx editing, and making a script library with custom functions.

 

If this quest checks out okay, I'll be ready to move onto the main plot quests!

[PJ156]

Another important skill to master is cracking open a beer with one hand while texturing a landscape with the other.

 

PJ

[Jezla]

Encountered a couple of strange glitches today while on a test-run.  It may or may not be related to the new Nvidia drivers.

 

I have some NPCs in the Old Skull with bandages on their heads (one of the helm options).  They are both set to never show helmets or armor, yet they have the normal head appearance with no bandages in game.  They appear correct in the toolset.

 

The other glitch is with placeables I have that have UV scrolling.  The UV scrolling displays fine in the toolset, but not in game.

 

Heven't had this problem in previous playtests.  Nothing in override, and the only thing different is I installed the 337 drivers form Nvidia today. Curious.

 

Aside from that, I've been spending a ton of time writing dialogue for one of the main NPCs.

[PJ156]

How much dialogue are you putting in for the main npc?

 

PJ

[Jezla]

PJ, I'm not really sure, yet.  So far her convo is fewer words than some others, but it's sure to grow.  She's a major source of info for the PC, as she points them in the direction of someone who is integral to the unfolding of the main plot, as well as giving her own side quest.  What makes it time consuming is one of my goals for this campaign, which is to pay homage to the old PW I worked on.

 

This NPC is actually my main character from the PW, and she can relate stories of some of the other characters and events that happened, if the PC chooses to question her on local history.  The challenge is figuring out just how much to include in the convo, how much to put into the journal, and how much to share, period.  I still have a bit of a personal attachment to the character, so I want to make sure I get her "right," at least as well as I can remember!

[rjshae]

You could always use the old "[Just copy it into my journal]" conversation option for players who prefer that approach.

[Jezla]

That's one option I'm considering.  One idea I've had is to make discovering the story from the PW days a kind of bonus quest.  You'll get a journal at the beginning that holds the snippets of the LotD tales.  Find them all, and you complete a bonus quest for some sort of reward.  Haven't fleshed out how that will all work yet, though.

 

For now I'm going with the start story...fade out...fade in...finish story routine.

[Jezla]

Just finished my test run.  Aside from the weird graphical behavior mentioned above and a few bugs, everything seems to be working well.

 

Here's another screen grab.  This area isn't finished yet, in it's final form it will be much darker, but I like this part of it.

 

 

Incidentally, you can see my first attempt at altering a vfx.  Changed the color of the water drip to red to make it look like blood.

[Dann-J]

You could always use the old "[Just copy it into my journal]" conversation option for players who prefer that approach.

 

I like to take a middle-ground approach, by only forcing the player to endure the least amount of text possible to get the basics across, but then offering optional conversation nodes if the player wants more detail. Reducing things down to succinct yet unambiguous sentences can be challenging though. You almost need a degree from the Readers Digest school of condensed literature.